annette davidek and maija fiebig...

ever since i saw one of her paintings on the cover of metropolitan home magazine, i have been a huge fan of annette davidek. her paintings are beautiful. i love her use of organic inspired shapes and vibrant colors. recently, design*sponge featured an artist named maija fiebig. her work instantly reminded me of annette davidek. fiebig's paintings are very different, but both artists have an ethereal, dreamy quality to their work. also, their amazing color palettes are quite similar. i am especially fond of fiebig's watercolors. davidek's paintings are shown above, and fiebig's, below...

maira kalman...

maira kalman is an american illustrator, author, artist, and designer. i love her offbeat, colorful, whimsical drawings. recently, she illustrated "the elements of style" - which turned the book into a beautiful piece of artwork as well as maintaining its place as the most influential grammar guide in print. i always look forward to the first wednesday of the month when her "principles of uncertainty" column is presented in the new york times!

eva zeisel...

eva zeisel is a hungarian potter who is considered one of the foremost industrial designers of the 20th century. shes a super cool old lady who created the department of ceramic arts industrial design at pratt institute and, at 100 years old, still lives and works out of her apartment in brooklyn. i love her use of fluid, curvy lines, it seems that her work has a sense of humor while also being modern and beautiful. when asked why her pottery is so curvy, she said, "i do curves because i'm curvy -- meaning i am a little bit fat". you can regularly find original pieces of her pottery on ebay.

anthropologie favorites...

those of you who know me are aware of my obsession with anthropologie! in my opinion, they carry some of the most eclectic and beautiful home decor items available in a mass-retail store. also, alongside their $4000 pieces of upholstered furniture, they do have a number of gems that can be found for affordable prices. i thought i would put together a few of my favorite picks from this season. i envision hanging the orla kiely blossom wallpaper (third row down, left) in a bedroom and turning it into a "faux headboard"...you could create this by hanging the wallpaper in a square (a good size might be 6 foot by 6 foot), then frame the wallpaper square with ornate wooden molding, paint the frame a bold teal blue - similar to the color in the wallpaper, and finally, paint the wall surrounding the wallpaper either a charcoal gray or a deep chocolate brown --- the icing on the cake would be hanging the beautiful effervescent chandelier in the room! unfortunately this will have to wait until i have a place of my own. but as you can see, i get alot of ideas for my own design projects from their stores..hopefully this will provide you with some inspiration too...

bohemian modern...

bohemian modern, a book by barbara bestor, has provided me with tons of inspiration. it also serves as a little bit of nostalgia since i used to live in los angeles and spent alot of my time in the silver lake neighborhood. bestor explains that the term 'bohemian modern' is meant to describe "people who live happily and comfortably in modern environments without sacrificing their individuality." this book is very well-designed. it is filled with gorgeous photography and charming drawings. it features different interior design/architecture projects (both residential and commercial) throughout the silver lake area - including echo park and elysian fields. it is a bit of fresh air compared to some interior design books and magazines out there that feature stuffy aesthetics and, at times, monotonous designs. bestors designs are relaxed, while still being fresh, modern, colorful and exciting. if you are a fan of dwell magazine and laid back modern design, i think you would probably love this book as much as i do!

dan stiles...

dan stiles creates some cool, well designed rock posters...there are so many poster designers out there and some of dan's really stand out from the bunch...i love his use of color and the graphic quality of his prints. i have the sigur ros poster hanging over my desk and it really brightens up my room and adds some interest to the plain white wall!

josef frank...

josef frank is considered one of the most influential textile designers in scandinavia. anthropologie recently started selling a collection of furniture upholstered in his textiles. this is exciting because previously his fabrics were very difficult to purchase. unfortunately the furniture is very expensive, so for now I will just have to admire pictures of his work!